DOT to begin chassis inspections

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TORONTO, Ont. — The U.S. Department of Transportation is launching a safety inspection program for intermodal container chassis.

The chassis are the flat trailer beds that cargo containers are loaded onto when being transported by truck.

“Every day millions of dollars worth of cargo are transferred from ships and rail to trailer beds and hauled away by trucks,” DOT Secretary Norman Mineta said publicly. “It is essential that we have a full and complete safety program focused on the trailer beds used to haul cargo containers.”

The new inspection program will be modeled on the compliance review program already in place for the domestic trucking community. Chassis providers will be required to obtain a DOT number and display it on their chassis so that data could be captured. The DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will apply the same penalty structure and enforcement actions for equipment, including issuing out-of-service orders and revoking DOT numbers when needed. Within the coming weeks, the DOT will outline specific details and a timeline for a notice of proposed rulemaking on the issue.

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